England v Ireland: Teams
England host Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday in what could prove to be interim coach Stuart Lancaster's last game in charge.
Last Updated: 16/03/12 2:23pm
England host Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday in what could prove to be interim coach Stuart Lancaster's last game in charge.
Lancaster picked up the reins following England's World Cup debacle and he has succeeded in restoring a sense of pride in the national team, guiding the side to three successive away victories for the first time in the RBS 6 Nations championship, including a landmark 24-22 triumph over France last time.
The Rugby Football Union are currently weighing up Lancaster's bid to lead England into the 2015 World Cup and victory at Twickenham will further boost his hopes of landing the job on a permanent basis.
The showdown is almost certain to determine who finishes tournament runners-up behind Grand Slam-chasing Wales - although England do have a mathematical chance of winning the title.
Lancaster has made just one change to the side that edged France, with wing David Strettle replacing Charlie Sharples after recovering from a sternum injury.
Restored
For Ireland, head coach Declan Kidney has also made one change, with Sean O'Brien restored to the starting XV, with Peter O'Mahony returning to the bench and Shane Jennings dropping out of the squad.
Captain Rory Best (ribs) and lock Donnacha Ryan (shoulder) have been included despite carrying injuries that has limited their involvement in training this week.
Lock Donncha O'Callaghan is keen for the Irish to avenge a 20-9 defeat to the English in their 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-up at the Aviva Stadium.
"England shirts are a red rag to the Irish. When we play England in anything, we want to do well and perform," he said.
"It's disappointing to say it but we played a friendly that day and they played a Test match. We were caught short because of that."
England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Lee Mears, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Mike Brown.
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best (capt), 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Mike McCarthy, 19 Peter O'Mahony, 20 Tomas O'Leary, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Fergus McFadden.